Version 1--> The Red Dragon Chronicles
by Krystal
Summary: [This is the old, un-edited version] An ongoing saga about a young, headstrong half elf on the road to self discovery and adventure. Honest views and criticism - the continuation of this story depends greatly on you readers!
1. Captive!

** Author's Note and Disclaimer: Yes, the name of my main character is familiar :) The following few stories are all taken from a roleplay I participated in awhile back for the Lords Of Krynn, a player guild in Ultima Online. My character was in fact molded with the idea of David Eddings' Ce'Nedra in mind. So, I don't claim originality for her name. However, everything else is of my own imagination. These following stories may seem disjointed. That is because they are only the parts that I wrote for the roleplay, so I will include a little cap at the beginning of each for reader's benefit. :) Enjoy and please write a review! **  
  
  
Captive!  
  
The sun glinted playfully off the youth's fire red hair as she wandered through the woods. Despite the biting chill of autumn, the azure sky was clear of clouds and songbirds flitted from branch to branch in the surrounding forest, singing their sweet melodies.   
  
Finally after what seemed like the hundreth time that she had jumped from some phantom presence, Ce'Nedra stopped in her tracks and let her lightsword slide back into it's scabbard.  
  
"Why did I have to wander off from that blasted maze!" She grumbled, hiking her backpack higher onto her shoulder.  
  
She sighed and glanced around, pulling up the hood of her brown travel cloak. An action more intended to fight off her nervousness than the biting cold. It had been more than once that she'd noticed green shadows passing among the trees.  
  
The young mage smiled in spite of herself, thinking back on how she managed to get herself into such a predicament. It hadn't been more than a day ago when she was adventuring through the woods with her friend, Daren. Eager to see more of the lands other that those of her home she persuaded her friend to let her walk ahead when he needed to return to town for more reagents. She regretted that desicion now more than ever.  
  
"No." She thought stubbornly. "I'm not going to start feeling afraid now. I've been able to live in the woods before. This is my element." Lifting her chin, she tromped onwards taking in the sights. She couldn't help but think that the calm city life had spoiled her.  
  
Suddenly she heard such a monstrous sound from the trees behind behind her she nearly jumped. Only cold apprehension kept the small yelp from escaping her lips, but sent a chill up her spine. She spun around and, yanking her recall rune out of it's pouch at her waist, called upon words of aincent wizards past. "Kal Ort Por"   
  
She spoke with such clarity and conviction that the advancing lizardman hesitated for a moment. Lizardmen were notorious for their dislike of magic.  
  
Ce'Nedra suddenly felt the familiar odd tingle run through her body. She groaned inwardly, dread and panic rising. Her spell had failed and magic reserves were too low now. The lizardman was far too close for her to call another spell - it would be on her before she even had the spell in her hands. Her only hope now was the magic lightsword strapped to her side.   
  
A lump of dread rose in her throat as she drew her sword.  
  
Immediately her elven childhood teachings on the sacredness of life sprang to mind. "No... I can't kill! I'm just a mage - a novice!" Her thoughts raced in all directions.  
  
Almost as if sensing her fear, the encanted weapon began to hum. It's smooth and elegant silver curves and edges catching the sunlight, it seemed to dance without moving from her now steady hands. She couldn't quite grasp the dissonant tune, but as the soft musical hum spread through her bod, an odd calm settled over her and she was finally able to force those thoughts out of her mind, replacing it with a mask of calm determination.  
  
This is the way it had to be.   
  
Shoving aside the part of her that she had hidden so long, the apprentice mage surrendered herself to her training.   
  
The serpent man lunged forward, tail lashing as wildly as his rust eaten sword. It's eyes burning with mad eagerness. Ce'Nedra steadied herself, checking her grip and posture as she stood her ground, hidden in the shadows of her hood. The lizardman's irratic charge came to an abrupt halt as their swords met with a clash that rung out through the enclosing forests. The steely ring of metal upon metal reverberated through the trees.   
  
Her opponent bore down relentlessly, using his full weight to force her to the ground. The mage dropped and with catlike grace, twisted and was on her feet again.   
  
Before the creature could recover, Ce'Nedra swept in, twisting her sword upwards in a butterfly sweep, slicing it's baldric and leaving a nasty gash ascross it's chest. The lizardman hissed in fury. She noted with saticfaction that desperation was making it move much more clumsily. Twisting sideways to dodge a retaliating thrust, she feigned an attack to it's waist, rolled to avoid another lunge, and coming up behind it, knocked the overgrown lizard upside the head with the hilt of her sword.   
  
Ce'Nedra came to her feet, and brought her sword up again for another attack. The creature staggered for a moment and dropped to the grassy floor with a sickening thud, bouncing on the mattress of damp foilage. Ce'Nedra sighed in relief and, mopped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand. She spun at the sound of mock applause behind her, bringing her sword up once more.  
  
Ce'Nedra's heart sank. Standing in among the trees behind her were dozens of lizardmen, just like the one she'd just fought. The jeering applause came from a hooded man in dark robes that seemed to completely shroud him in its depths. Try as she might, all she could see of this stranger were his hands. Hands that were chillingly human, but boasted the smooth and sickly green scales and sharp claws of the lizardmen. Even though she could see nothing of his face, Ce'Nedra knew instinctively that he was a mage. The strong and malevolent aura of magic that he exuded as well as the fact that the lizardmen went out of their way to avoid him, spoke volumes on that. "I must commend you, woman." He purred. His voice had a horrible sweetness to that repulsed and intruiged her at the same time. You fight very well for a-"  
  
"For a what? A mage!" She spat scornfully.  
  
The dark mage was silent for a moment. Slowly, he seemed to move his face forward, peering at her. At last he smiled. Ce'Nedra's knees went weak. The mage's smile revealed an inhuman face, an odd mix of serpent and man, only he looked to have more human qualities. His smile held no warmth, only cold hatred, revealing row upon row of sharp, pointed teeth.  
  
"Oh gods, what have I gotten myself into now!" Ce'Nedra thought, mentally berrating herself for letting her temper get the better of her - again.   
  
Seeing this in her face the magic user spoke from the depths of the hood. "Lay down your weapon and we shall not harm you - elf." He spoke demurely but his last words cut through her soul. She flinched, checking her hood, she fingered her eyes. "How...?" she thought confused.  
  
"You are ashamed? Hm"- he grunted self-confidantly -"Half-Elf" he spat, taking in the shadow of puzzlement that passed over her face. "Come now, you can't hide those pretty eyes! Not even from lowly serpent men!"  
  
She smiled humorlessly. "They wouldn't be so confidant if my Drake were here." She thought, a pang of sorrow touched her chest as she realized her dear friend wasn't around anymore. If only Cinder were here now. Sighing inwardly, she returned her attention to the hooded man that was now speaking and the predicament she'd gotten herelf into.  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?"  
  
The mage smiled again, sending a chill up Ce'Nedra's spine "You didn't think we'd let you come all the way out here with that drake, did you, half elf!? Now be a good girl." His golden eyes gleamed with menace as he gestured to the lizardmen. They had all fanned out, completely surrounding her and the mage. "Drop your weapon, and you shall remain unscathed.'  
  
Ce'Nedra frowned. He had avoided her question, that was no surprise. But he'd referred to her thoughts instead. Ever since she was young, she had had the strange gift of detecting thoughts and emotions. Over time she had learned to block them out when it baecame too much, as well as keep her own thoughts from others. Ce'Nedra peeked out from behind her mental wall for a moment, searching the mage for thought patterns. She was nearly floored when her gift touched nothing but air. She fanned out her search, but only met the sickening presence of the lizardmen. Ce'Nedra recoiled in disgust. Giving herself a mental shake. The mind of monsters were never plesant to touch.  
  
The dark mage lifted a scaly finger and tapped the side of his forehead. He grinned and shook a chiding finger at her. "Uh-uh. No sneaking around, halfblood." His eyes darkened. "You sicken me with your presence."  
  
Ce'Nedra stood baffled. Her gift should have countered any probing he would do, whats more - to her gift, he didn't exist. She reached out with a magical hand, tentatively checking if the mage was just an illusion, or projection.  
  
Her breathing quickened when she "touched" a solid presence with no trace of a projection spell.  
  
He - It - was very real.  
  
She pulled back, when she felt another force, cold as death sieze her own recoiling magical aspect. Shock barely registered when a sudden searing pain shot through her. Ce'Nedra gasped as she felt all the air being knocked out of her. Her entire body threatened to fail but she held her ground, refusing to let him weaken her. When she didn't fall, another bolt of pain shot through her. This time driven by mad, unbridled hate. Ce'Nedra screamed, the agony was like a thousand daggers and a lightning bolt strike her all at once. The world began to swim and she crumpled to the ground, clutching herself in agony.   
  
Ce'Nedra didn't know how long she laid there, curled in on herself as the aftershocks of pain rippled through her body. Time ceased to have meaning as she struggled to keep hold of herself and reality. She coughed, fighting to pull enough air into her lungs to steady her trembling muscles, beads of sweat stood out on her pale brow.  
  
Finally she was able to gather her scattered thoughts enough to think coherently. She shuddered at the fading memory of the pain. Never before had she even heard of such magic as this. Again, she wondered why she couldn't sense the dark mage's mind Loathing flared up in the pit of her stomach as she forced herself to stand. Amazingly, she realized that she had maintained a grip on her sword. Ce'Nedra winced as she transferred her sword to her left hand, a fresh memory of the agony came clear. Her sword hand was bloodied and sore from maintaining a death-grip on it for so long.  
  
Ce'Nedra looked up, meeting the mage's cold gaze with an equal amount of ice.  
  
Seeing her stand, the mage grinned, his golden eyes holding hers. "I was told you'd be a feisty one." His eyes gleamed hungrily. "That was so much fun."  
  
"Burn in hell." She rasped.  
  
The dark mage laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "Been there, done that." He stopped laughing abruptly but wicked glee was still evident in his face as he clasped his hands at his waist once more. "My master requested you alive but I figured a little fun would be alright. Thank you, for giving me the excuse to do so."  
  
"I did no such thing."  
  
"So?" He shrugged.  
  
Ce'Nedra had to resist the urge to run her sword through him at that point. She had to find out where he was going with this. quickly she checked the shield on her mind and doubled it.  
  
"Your mind magic can't protect you." He sneered. "You see, halfblood, your gift can't touch me because it's limited to the living. Now, I'll only say this once more. Drop your weapon."  
  
She regarded him cooly. "Why don't you just make me."  
  
The mage said nothing. Apparently he was serious about the restrictions on him. Ce'Nedra adjusted her grip on her sword, fingering it's delicate curves and fine workmaship as she glanced around her. Thirty. She laughed ruefully. Even if she did fight, she'd only be able to take down three if she were lucky. Each lizardman was twice as large as she, and probably five times as heavy but their massive frames and muscled arms did nothing to slow their incredible agility. Their heavy, rust-eaten broadswords and axes were all blunt and dull but she knew that with as much brute force behind them as these vile creatures had, they could easily cleave an opponent in two, if they weren't quick enough.  
  
Against one she had a chance. But thirty...  
  
Scowling, Ce'Nedra tossed her sword at the feet of a lizardman closest to her.  
  
The dark mage nodded. "Wise choice, halfblood."   
  
Drawing herself up, she threw back the hood of her cloak as she stood watching them, her eyes narrowed and startled gasps escaped from the captors.   
  
"I am NOT ashamed. Of myself or my heritage, dark mage." She said coldly, lifting her chin stubbornly.   
  
Only now that she had pulled back her hood, could they see her face. Her skin was creamy and pale seemingly making what litle sunlight that filtered through the trees radiate from her face. Her features were delicate and deep set, refined like marble betraying her elven heritage. Long fire red hair cascaded down her shoulders in ringlets and bobbed slightly with the passing breeze.   
  
But it was none of this which startled so the serpentine soldiers, for the large, slanted almond eyes of the elf-maid before them glittered menacingly. And though her eyes were narrowed in hate, regarding them with chilling scorn, it was clear to all the piercing gleam of her violet eyes.   
  
Emboldened, the hooded creature chuckled with an odd note of self-satisfaction. The sound grated on her nerves. "Oh but you should be, foolish woman. Didn't anyone ever tell you to never trust a snake?"  
  
Suddenly, she heard a sickening thud followed by numbing pain. Dimly, in the back of her mind she realized that she hadn't noticed the lizardman sneaking up on her as impenetrable darkness came crashing down on her.   
  
  
  
  



	2. Underworld

** CAP: Ce'Nedra awakens to find that she has been spirited away by the vulgar lizardmen to the Underworld. Just when all seems hopeless, her friend Daren shows up. Aparrently he had returned from town with the things he needed just in time to watch the evil mage capture Ce'Nedra with the serpentine soldiers. Luckily he somehow managed to link his own magic to the gate the mage used to transport himself and his captive. Once they are reunited in the underworld, however, Ce' and Daren find themselves in quite a fix, as just when they escape the evil mage, a daemon detect the use of living magic and begin attacking them. In the thick of it all, Daren has managed to cast a keyed gate back to the safety of the LOK keep and is now ordering our halfblood heroine to retreat. NOTE: I wrote a bit from Daren's point of view to complete the story. I have changed names and situations, improving it as I went along and changing it to my present style (as I first wrote this two years ago)**  
  
  
The Underworld  
  
"...as a full member of the guild I order you to go now! DO IT!!"  
  
Around them, chaos ensued. Ce'Nedra yelped and grabbed Daren, narrowly avoiding a roaring fireball. She took a moment to look back and groaned. Despite his torn wings, the deamon was gaining on them fast.   
  
"Now listen here, Daren," She growled, grabbing the front of his tunic. "don't you dare go pulling rank on me because you know it wont work. I won't leave here alone, you idiot!"  
  
A shadow of uncertainty passed over his young features only to be replaced by determination.  
  
Ce'Nedra groaned inwardly. It wasn't going to work.  
  
His blue eyes flashed. Ce'Nedra imagined they would have matched her's a moment ago. Despite the deadly calm in his voice, she knew he meant it this time. "Don't argue with me Ce'Nedra. Like it or not, I am pulling rank." Daren placed a hand atop her head and pulled her down again as another fireball sped past. "Now take the gate and get out."   
  
Ce'Nedra hesitated, staring helplessly at her friend. Until that moment   
she had been able to deny leaving Daren behind, but with nearly every spell exausted they needed to get out.   
  
She nodded grimly, her violet eyes meeting blue. "I'll go. Bout don't expect me to forgive you for making me do this."  
  
Despite everything, Daren smiled, nodding his thanks. "Over there. Behind that quarry the magical flow is strongest. The energies down here are completely different than what this spell is built for but it's worth a try."   
  
Ce'Nedra nodded, not trusting herself to words as she turned. Daren grabbed her arm, his piercing hawklike gaze was intense. "Ce'Nedra. If the spell works you'll have all of five seconds, if you're lucky, to get through. Clerical magic can't hold it's own in a place like this but you're training for the red robes - your energies are different. Don't hesitate Ce'. Get out." He sighed and looked out at the deamon. "You'll have to pass him to get to the quarry. I'll distract him, and then use my spell to get out.  
  
He left unsaid the fact that he may not get out at all.  
  
Ce'Nedra knew Daren well enough to know he was speaking as a friend now, despite his firm tone.  
  
She nodded once more, offering a smile of encouragement. "I willexpect you to keep your word.  
  
With that she turned and ran.  
  
If there was one thing she did well it was running. Growing up in Qualinost she had loved to run for the sheer joy of it. The sun on her face, the wind in her hair. The intoxicating rush of evergreen smells and the grass as it flew by under her feet.  
  
Only this time she wasn't enjoying it. "I can't disobey a direct order...the guild would never accept it!" She thought.   
  
Twenty feet to the quarry.   
  
The mind link she'd set with Daren flared with urgency, Ce'Nedra stopped and rolled, just in time to avoid a steak of white lightning. Ce'Nedra found it hard to pity the deamon as it let out an agonized roar.  
  
Seems today is full of narrow misses. A wry voice said.  
  
Ce'Nedra was on her feet and running in a second. The link flared again, only the danger wasnt hers. This time she spun to face deamon that was bearing down of Daren and sent a whirlwind of ice and water at him.  
  
Easy for you to say, Daren. She thought back. Do you have any idea how hard it is to cast ice in this inferno?  
  
A mental grunt was all the answer she got. Panic flared. 'Dear Gods, please give him strength.' She prayed.  
  
Ten feet.  
  
Suddenly a plan sprung out of her desperate thoughts and she stopped dead in her tracks.  
  
The mind link flared again. He's coming after you again. I think he knows whats going on - Daren's thoughs suddenly became colored with panic. Ce'! What in the nine hells are you doing!? Go! He's coming after you!  
  
Daren, you're my friend.  
  
Ce' I- Ce'Nedra closed the link as she turned to face the deamon.   
  
All at once, her ears were assaulted by tunderous sounds. Daren was unleashing nearly every spell on the deamon's back as it approached her attempting to slow it, somehow it appeared to have assimilated the style of attacks. She realized that Daren's attacks were no longer effective. All the more reason to do this.  
  
Ce'Nedra fingered the leather archer band on her left wrist. She could hear Daren yelling out as he began to run towards them, but she knew he was too far away and so did he. Apparently the deamon did too and had no plans of giving up his quarry now. She knew he wouldn't kill her, only the gods knew why, but Daren was unimportant.   
  
'E'li come to my aid this day.' She prayed.   
  
The deamon was no more than five strides away. Now.  
  
Ce'Nedra ignited her spell. Instantly, a shield of glittering violet snapped up, encasing the deamon and her together. She knew there wasn't enough of her strength left to cast this from the outside. One wrong move could bring the entire cavern down on them.  
  
Realizing the threat, the deamon reared up, his undirected magic attacks struck the shield at all points, rattling Ce'Nedra to the bone as she struggled to maintain the spell.  
  
Her face set in grim resolve, Ce'Nedra consentrated all of the power she could pull in. Her legs weakened and threatened to buckled under her but she stubbornly called upon the aincent words of magic. Tendrils of violet magic reached out, entwining its fingers around the deamon.   
  
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"Ce'! NO!" Daren yelled. Dismay and fear of losing her gripped his chest, yet he was powerless to stop it. The distance was too great between them, yet he still ran. He had been a student of magic long enough to know the tolls a spell of this size could take on a human. Even from this far away he could feel the eerie tingle of magical energies emenating from Ce'Nedra. The deamon thrashed wildly against her containment spell but to no avail. He resigned himself to what would happen. She would hear nothing, see nothing, but the magic she wove. Her entire being was committed to the fufillment of the spell.   
  
Despite the fact that he had dedicated his entire life to magic, that was the one thing that repulsed him about it. The almost human awareness that magic took on once past the break point of the spell. The point where the caster was completely pulled into the spell with no hope of escaping the magic except to complete it. Daren knew that at this point the magic would be pushing itself, pulling energies from the caster relentlessly without care for her well being, tapping into the caster's very life energy if needed.  
  
Daren staggered at that thought. 'Dear Gods' The realization struck him like lightning.  
  
Without further thought, Daren closed his eyes and reached out with his magic for the mental link Ce' had initiated and then shut down just moments earlier. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally found a faint trace of it and grabbed it, sending his own energy reserve along to her.  
  
"Please don't let me be too late."  
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All of a sudden, Ce'Nedra felt faint. She desperately reached out for more power, panic rising as she realized that the spell was now turning to her life energy for sustinence to complete itself.   
  
Suddenly, she felt the mind link to Daren flare into being again, surprise followed an abrupt influx of energy. Ce'Nedra smiled to herself. Now, with enough energy, and the young mage spoke her command. Her ringing voice obediently followed by a soundless explosion as the pent up forces released in a violent torrent of fire in a soundless explosion.  
  
Daren looked up just in time to see Ce'Nedra's violet dome glow with a moment of blinding intensity as the ground shook violently. He tentatively touched the lines of the spell with his magic and was astounded to discover its deliberate intricacy. With the spell ended, the traces began to fade into obscurity but he didn't care.  
  
The sparkling dome faded into nothingness, flickering irritatedly at not being dismissed in the proper fasion. Daren had to remind himself to breathe as he rushed forward.   
  
All traces of the deamon was gone. Ce'Nedra's fire had completely incinerated it.  
  
A faint flicker of light caught his eye. Not five feet away, a gate opened like a whirlpool standing upright. Daren recognized the familiar violet tinge to its energies and lying nearby was Ce'Nedra.  
  
Daren nearly leapt for joy but the impending danger of their present location kept him quiet, lest they be heard. Rushing over to Ce' he gathered her limp form up and, with what little energy he had, took up the strand that linked her to the gate so it couldn't drain her anymore.   
  
The gate flickered, somehow trying to rebel against the exchange of power sources when it brightened to a deep blue. Daren could feel someone on the other side lending their own spell to stabilize it.  
  
He looked down at the half-elf in his arms, amazed. After being the center of a firestorm like that, there wasn't a singed fiber on her. Her breathing was shallow, but it was there.  
  
"Hang on Ce'." He mumbled, adding his gift to keep her lifeline stable. "You'll be alright. You still have a big lecture coming on following orders."   
  
Her eyelids fluttered open. She regarded him for a moment with those glorious violet eyes that seemed to have the stars themselves in them despite the haze that was in them. "I'll hold you to that." She mumbled groggily.   
  
Unable to hide it, Daren smiled. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."  
  
She coughed out a laugh and returned the smile, before her eyes slid shut again.  
  
Daren wished she would open her eyes again; just to know she was really alright. He smiled to himself, even half dead she could captivate him in that timeless gaze.   
  
Feverently he hoped he was right as, checking the gate one last time, he stepped through to emerge within the safety of the guild Keep and it's healers on the other side.  



	3. Siege

Daren and Ce'Nedra escape from their demonic captors to the safety of the Guild Keep - or so they thought. Apparently the minions of Takhisis were not so willing to give up their quarry. The sturdy granite walls of the Keep itself are wracked by missiles of every magical nature as the undead mages open portals, allowing demons to swamp LoK territory.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Weak and exhausted, Ce'Nedra slumped against the cold stone walls of the LOK Keep. Her violet eyes shone dully with dismay as she let the past events sink in.  
  
Demons and monsters were appearing all around the Keep, some she was familiar with, while others were so malformed and disfigured they seemed to step right out of her worst nightmares and she was forced to look away. She, Daren, and a few other look were crouched inside the safe confines of the solid granite walls. They had stood through many battles and attacks, but Ce'Nedra feared that they wouldn't hold much longer.   
  
God's what will happen now She thought.  
  
Seeing the dismay in her face, Daren excused himself from a huddle of ranking guildmen and hurried over to her. Ce'Nedra noticed that he was staying well away from the windows.   
  
He crouched beside her, offering an encouraging smile. "Gary says that the undead mages must have tapped our portal when we left. They were waiting for it. A call has been sent out on runners to the towns, others will be arriving shortly." He brushed aside her sweat matted fire-red hair, they hadn't had much time to recuperate after their narrow escape from the Underworld. "How are you feeling?" The concern was clear in his gray eyes.  
  
Ce'Nedra nodded wearily. "I'll be fine. I just feel so stupid. I should have tapped the power waylines and dispersed the gate's trail. Then none of this would be happening."  
  
She was forced to look him in the eye when two stern hands were set on her shoulders. "Ce', you were barely alive! Why you cast the gate I don't know but you saved our hides."  
  
Ce'Nedra looked away.  
  
He touched her cheek lightly, making her look back at him. "Ce'Nedra, I owe you my life."  
  
She smiled, feeling better in an odd, detached way. The cleric seemed to have a talent for making her feel hope in the worst situations. Their eyes held for a moment and she was suddenly at a loss for what to do or say when a wave of dizziness swept through her. She let her bowed her head slightly, trying at once to fight off the sudden disorientation and hide it, but Daren must have detected the droop in her shoulders or seen it in her eyes because his arms became more firm in support. "You need healing." He muttered.  
  
Already she could see the timeless mist of magic gathering in his eyes as he repositioned himself in front of her.  
  
Ce'Nedra drew herself up, setting her face in a mask of willful resolve. "I'll be alright, Daren." She said brusquely. She was about to leave it at that but the confused look on his face gave her pause and she forced a smile. "We're both tired and you'll need all the strength you can gather for casting." She smiled wryly. " And I have a feeling I won't be much in the way of help. Don't waste any valuable mana on me."   
  
A look of uncertainty passed over his face and Ce'Nedra realized that she had never really noticed how handsome he was. She had learnt sometime ago of his distant elven relations, though he was more human, his elven heritage, no matter how obscure, showed in his refined features. The stronger human blood gave him the size and sturdiness although he moved with innate grace. His gray eyes were lit with the faintest tinge of blue and had an almost hawklike quality.  
  
Ce'Nedra smiled an brushed a strand of sandy hair from his face. "Don't worry about me. If you must, send a healer, but save your strength for the real fighting."  
  
He had learned well that it was useless arguing with her, and Ce'Nedra had purposefully left no room for argument. Finally he sighed and nodded, contenting himself with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Help is on the way." He said confidently.   
  
They both glanced out through an arched window, undead were gathering quickly.  
  
Though she said nothing, the concern was clear in her eyes. Daren simply smiled at her reassuringly, already their fellow guildsmen were recalling into the Keep.   
  
"Have faith, Ce'."  
  
Suddenly the Keep shook with an explosion. Daren lunged forward, shielding her from the falling rocks and debris with his body.   
  
When the tremors ceased, Ce'Nedra glanced out the window again, the mages were conjuring fire ballistas and hurling them at the granite walls. She glanced back at Daren. "Well, Cleric Daren, I think it's time you started praying."  
  
His jaw tightened. "The walls are not as strong as they used to be." He laid a hand on a fluted pillar. "I must rally the other mages."  
  
"Let me help -"  
  
"No." Daren's eyes flashed with finality. "Please Ce'," He said patiently. "You may not admit it, but I can see as clear as day that you're weak right now. Rest and save your energy. We'll be needing you later. I won't have you getting yourself killed from pushing your limits." The last was spoken with a note of such fierce concern and command is surprised her. Ce'Nedra nodded.  
  
"Yes, Daren."  
  
Daren smiled slightly. "Thank you, Ce'Nedra." He grasped her hand tightly for a moment, seeming uncertain of what to do next. Finally he nodded and, motioning for a healer to tend her, he turned away to gather the others of their sect.  
  
She found her voice just before he was out of earshot. "Daren,"  
  
"Yes, m'Lady?"  
  
"Thank you."  



End file.
